The Downside of Winter
by TeddyBear98
Summary: Sure, Winter is fun, but it does have it's downsides, such as tree branches falling from the heavy blankets of snow. What happens when Jack Frost is hit by one, and when he wakes up, he doesn't remember befriending the Guardians, the Burgess kids, or the battle with Pitch Black? He thinks he is still unwanted and alone . . .
1. The Start of it All

**Author's Note: Hi! This is the first chapter of The Downside of Winter! Hope you enjoy! For all of my friends/readers from the Kickin' It archive who have been waiting for me to post a new Kickin' It story, the first chapter of a new one will probably be up tomorrow at some point! Now, enjoy and review please!**

**The Downside of Winter**

"Oohh, I'm so scared of you! What are you gonna do, have your little walking eggs attack me?" Jack prompts a fuming Bunnymund. They had gotten into a little playful argument that was starting to get a bit out of control. They were discussing which season kids liked better, Spring or Winter, much like Bunny and North always discussed if Easter or Christmas was better.

"Why you little –" Bunny starts, but Jack continues to give a cocky smile, showing that pretty much anything Bunny said to him was just a meaningless point.

"Aw, forget it and just get lost, would ya Frostbite!?" Jack's smile widens, because he knows that he has won.

"Whatever, Kangaroo," Jack says, flying out of the nearest window and heading away from the North Pole. The Guardians had gathered there for a meeting, but North was delayed and now they were all just hanging around, bored. Since Jack had finished his little mini-argument with Bunny, he wanted to bring some fresh snow to his favorite town (Burgess or course) and visit two of his favorite believers who just happened to live there, Jamie and Sophie Bennett. Jack figured he had some time before North would be ready, so he called over his shoulder as he flew away, "I'll be back in an hour!" and, ignoring Tooth's protests, heads to Burgess.

As soon as he got there, he started working his magic right away; Burgess was in desperate need of some snow, and he had been busy with the Guardians to the point where he had neglected to bring it for a few days. He smiled as big snowflakes began to fall, the wet kind that would stick and be perfect for making snowballs and snowmen. He couldn't wait to see Jamie and Sophie's faces and, in an effort to make them happier, decided to make the snow fall faster, so that there was already at least 3 inches of it on the ground within minutes. Satisfied with himself, Jack started off towards the familiar house of the two young children that he had come to love so much; he abruptly stopped when he heard a loud crack from very close off to his right that resounded throughout the woods. Looking in the direction that the noise had come from, Jack spots a thick tree branch with a crack in it, probably because of the heavy snow that had settled on top of it. Floating over, the Spirit of Winter starts to inspect it, trying to decide if it will be a danger to the children or not.

He is in the process of trying to figure out if he would be able to remove it when, with only so much as a small groan as a warning, the branch falls from the tree, and Jack is right in the path of it. With no time to move out of the way, Jack's last thought is "_Oh no" _before it slams into him, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground, hard.

Letting out a soft groan, he falls unconscious, the branch halfway on top of him and blood dripping from his head, and the snow that he had been making stopped falling.

* * *

"Soph, look, it's snowing! That means Jack's coming!" Jamie had excitedly said to his little sister just moments before. Now both kids were outside in their snow gear, and Jamie was looking at the sky, baffled. The snow had stopped just as quickly as it had started. There was enough to play in, but Jack always gave them more than this. Was there a reason? Jamie shrugged it off and decided to ask his friend when he got there and focus on having some fun for now.

"Jamie!" The Bennett boy turns at the sound of the voice and sees his rag-tag group of friends walking toward his house, looking confused.

"Hi guys!" he says, greeting them.

"Hey! Is Jack here? Why did the snow stop already?" Pippa, the girl who always wore the beanie on her head, asked.

"No, he's not here, and I figured I'd just ask him when he came. Come wait with me! He'll be here soon I bet." Pippa and the other kids nod, joining Jamie in a snowball fight in his front yard while Sophie tried to do what the older kids did. It was hard, though, and she eventually sat on the front steps, exhaustedly watching them. After a few minutes, it was decided that the snowball fight was a tie, and it was then that they realized that they had been playing for at least 20 minutes, and Jack had never shown up.

"Jamie, do you think something's wrong? Did he have to go back to the Guardians? Is he gonna come?" Several questions of the sort are asked of Jamie, since he had a special bond with Jack, being his first believer and all. However, Jamie just grew annoyed, because he didn't have answers to any of them and he was a little worried that Jack had never shown up, and why the snow had stopped so quickly. He didn't have time to ponder it though, as at that moment his mother called him and Sophie in for the night. The young boy sighed; he would have to go looking for his friend tomorrow.

* * *

"Okay, done with work! Let's get meeting started!" North booms, walking out of the workshop with a smile on his face.

"Hate ta break it to ya mate, but Jack left bout an hour ago, so ya might have ta wait a little while," Bunny informs the big Russian man.

"What?! Why did he leave? He knows we have meeting to catch up!" North says.

"Well, Bunny told him to get lost," Tooth informs. Sandy nods his head in agreement with Tooth.

"Bunny!"

"What?! Frostbite was getting on my nerves! Besides, he didn't take it seriously. He had that stupid grin on his face when he left. He probably just went to see Jamie and Sophie and the others, and got caught up; he wont mind if we start without 'im," Bunny says, completely convinced that the troublemaker of a spirit was in Burgess running around with his favorite kids.

North isn't so sure though; he was starting to get a feeling in his belly, as he often did when something wasn't quite right.

Bunny notices the look in North's eyes, and immediately knows that if he doesn't say something soon, he will most likely have to go looking for Jack.

"Ah come on North, I'm sure Snowflake is fine. Just give 'im a few minutes!" Bunny prompts.

"Bunny, I think something is wrong. I feel it in my belly!" North says. Bunny rolls his eyes; great, there was no changing the man's mind now.

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Bunny says, opening up a hole in the floor that will bring him to Burgess.

"I'm coming too!" Tooth says, a tiny bit of worry etched in her eyes. Bunny nods, and Tooth flits down the hole after Bunny hops in; it closes up behind her, leaving Sandy and North alone to wait for them to come back, hopefully with an unharmed Jack with them.

**Author's Note: Well, that obviously won't happen! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review!**


	2. Amnesiac

**Author's Note: You see, I never make my readers wait long for an update! Here you guys go, enjoy chapter 2! Oh and by the way, in later chapters there will be some friendship-type fluff between Jack and Bunny. I kind of think it's fun writing about that, and it has also been requested by Night-Fury1, who really wants it and has asked for some credit lol so there ya go Night Fury! Hehe again, enjoy guys!**

A few minutes later, Bunny and Tooth arrive in the small town of Burgess, and Bunny immediately notices the fresh snow. "See, he must have come here and gotten hung up with the little ankle-biters," Bunny grumbles, still not happy about having to find Jack.

"Bunny, lighten up! If he's with the kids then this will take 2 minutes and then we can get back to Santoff Clausen! Besides, don't you want to see Sophie?" Tooth prompts, feeling less worried after seeing the new snow. At the mention of the little blonde girl, Bunny's mood seems to become a bit more cheerful, and he doesn't complain again as they make their way to the Bennett house. It was dark by the time they got there. They could see that the snow in the Bennett's front yard had been played in, since there were footprints everywhere. None appeared to be barefoot footprints though.

Bunny obviously couldn't fly, so Tooth flitted up to Jamie's window and peered in. She spotted the young boy on his bed in his pajamas, looking bummed as he petted his greyhound. She tapped on the window to get Jamie's attention, and he looked up, spotting her immediately. Smiling, he quickly got up from the bed and opened the window for her.

"Hi Tooth!" he says excitedly; she visited him as much as she could in the months since Pitch's defeat, but she hadn't been able to drop by in a few weeks. As he is about to close the window, he spotted Bunny on the ground below and shouted out a greeting to him as well, and quietly went downstairs to open the door for him. Once the three were settled in Jamie's room, Bunny casting slightly anxious glances at the dog who had attacked him after Jack's antics months ago.

It looked like Jamie was about to say something, but Tooth cut him off before he could and said, "Not that we don't like visiting you Jamie, but there is an actual purpose this time. Was Jack here at all today? He flew off earlier and we need him back to the Pole for our meeting. We need to find him."

Jamie looked a little worried at hearing this news. "Actually, I was just going to ask about that. It started snowing earlier, and when Sophie and I went out to play in it, it just stopped even thought it had basically just started. We waited for Jack to show up, along with the others, but he never showed. He's okay, right?" he asked.

"Well, I won't lie to you Jamie: I honestly don't know right now, but we'll find him, okay?" Tooth reassures. Jamie nods.

"Jamie, time for bed! Lights out, your sister is trying to sleep!" Mrs. Bennett yells from another room somewhere close by. Jamie sighs, but Tooth gave him a slight smile and tucked him in.

"Goodnight, Jamie. We'll come back tomorrow to see you and Soph and tell you any news, okay?" Jamie nodded.

"Get some sleep ya little ankle biter," Bunny added in. Jamie closes his eyes and goes to sleep while Tooth flits out the window and Bunny goes down the stairs, using the front door like he had to come in. Bunny was slightly more concerned now, and shares a worried glance with Tooth. Without words, they head off to the one other place they could think to check: the woods near his lake, and start looking feverishly, shouting his name.

* * *

At around the same time Tooth and Bunny made it to Jamie's house, Jack began to stir. He slowly opened his icy blue eyes, his head throbbing in pain. What had happened? He remembered creating snow . . . he had flew here from somewhere . . . he could recall lots of snow, and a . . . a yeti? No, that couldn't be accurate. Yetis only lived at Santoff Clausen, and he wasn't allowed there. None of the Guardians wanted him around; no one wanted him around. Jack sighed, his head still throbbing. It was when he tried to sit up that he realized there was a tree branch resting halfway on top of him, preventing him from doing so. How had he not noticed that before?

Using the as much strength as he could muster, he managed to move it about an inch, which happened to be just enough where he could wriggle free. He floated stayed on the ground for a moment, fighting off dizziness. As soon as the wave passed, he was coherent enough to look for his staff, which he found in the snow a few feet away from a puddle of blood in the snow . . . _his _blood. How long had he been unconscious for?

He is trying to figure that out when he hears someone calling a name . . . and it was _his _name.

"Jack!? Jack, where are you?! A female voice calls out. No, they couldn't be looking for him. He actually chuckled at the thought of anyone caring enough to do such a thing; he knew it would never happen.

"Come on Frostbite, where are ya!?" Jack froze at that; the nickname sounded kind of familiar, but besides that, the Australian accent could only belong to the Easter Bunny, whom he didn't have very good history with. As the voices got closer, Jack sprang up into a tree, concealing himself in the shadows and watching.

Two forms come into view, one being the Easter Bunny, as Jack had predicted. The other was flying and covered in rainbow feathers. Jack never crossed paths with her much, but he knew it was the Tooth Fairy. When they come across where he had just been laying and see the blood, she gasps and puts a hand over her mouth.

"Bunny, you don't think . . ." she starts, but doesn't finish.

"I don't know Tooth, but if he was hurt, he at least got out. He's gotta be around here somewhere, if he's injured I doubt he made it far," the Easter Bunny responds grimly.

"Oh Jack, please be okay," the Tooth Fairy pleads out loud. Jack's breath catches in his throat. It sure sounded like they were talking about him, but why? Why did they care? Had he done something wrong and they were just worried that they wouldn't be able to find him to punish him?

Curious, he inches forward a little bit, and his face becoming somewhat visible in the moonlight, his white hair glinting slightly, reflecting on the snow below. Spotting it, Tooth looks up, and sees his face.

"Jack?!" she says excitedly, and Bunny looks up too. Highly confused and uncomfortable with the attention from the other spirits, Jack clutches his staff tighter and quickly flies off, leaving them far behind calling after him.

**Author's Note: Hope I did okay on this chappie! Review!**


	3. Confusion

**Author's Note: Hey, here's chapter 3! Haha enjoy! Oh, and to the Guest Maddie, he does remember being the Spirit of Winter, just not being a Guardian or befriending the Burgess kids and things like that. Basically, he remembers everything before being approached by Bunny that night in the ally and getting stuffed in the sack. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

"Bunny, we should follow him!" Tooth squeals, fretting over why Jack had flown away from them. Was he angry, upset, and was the blood on the ground his? Was he injured, and worried of being fussed over? That would make sense, Jack didn't really like to be crowded and worried over.

"I don't know, Tooth! He looked fine to me, he's probably just being stubborn is all; havin' too much fun and not wanting to go to a meeting cooped up indoors," Bunny responds, mostly trying to convince himself. He kept casting glances at the blood in the snow and off in the direction where Jack had just disappeared in, looking concerned.

"Let's go tell North," Tooth concludes, not positive what else to do. Perhaps he would have better advice than Bunny did. Bunny nods and quickly opens up a hole, and the two of them jump down without hesitation.

* * *

Jack fled as fast as he could away from the two spirits, hoping that they weren't following him. When he felt that he was far enough away, and was confident that they weren't on his trail, he slowed down, relaxing a little bit. Ignoring the dull ache in his head, he casts one more nervous glance behind him to be sure that he hadn't been followed before settling down in a tree, leaning his back against the thick trunk and putting his hood over his head.

He thought about what had happened in the last few minutes. Okay, he had woken up smushed under a tree branch with a bad headache, two of the Guardians had been looking for him, and he had a memory (that had to be false, right?) of a yeti . . . Jack sighed. He couldn't make any sense of this right now, and thinking just made the throb in his head worse, so he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as the sun slowly started to come up.

* * *

Jamie woke up early that morning, hoping that Bunny and/or Tooth would be there to explain what had ended up happening with Jack, but to his disappointment, neither of the two were in his room waiting to greet him. He sighed and got out of bed, dragging himself to his window at the snow that had already started to melt; it was much to his surprise when he saw that it hadn't gone away anymore, and there seemed to be some frost layers covering the trees and bushes in the neighborhood. Jamie became excited at this; that had to mean Jack was here and was okay!

Laughing, he ran to the closet downstairs and hurriedly put on his coat over his pajama top, also slipping on his snow boots and a pair of gloves. Quietly so as not to wake his mother up and alert her to him leaving, Jamie opened up the door and slipped outside, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sunlight. He looked around; upon first inspection, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but in his second look he caught a glimpse of a blue hoodie in a tall tree across the street.

Smiling, he ran across the street and sure enough looked up and saw the sleeping form of his friend. "Jack!" he called up; he didn't stir at first.

"Jack!" he tried again, a little louder. That time, his eyes snapped opened, startled, and with a yelp fell out of the tree and into the snow below before he could decipher what was happening. He picked himself up from the ground, rubbing his cramped neck as Jamie ran up to him, concerned.

"Jack, are you okay?" he asked, looking down at the Spirit of Winter with worry in his eyes. Jack returned his gaze, shocked.

"Y – you can see me? You know who I am?" he asked, giddy yet confused and a little wary at the same time.

Jamie, taking this as a joke from his mischievous friend, just laughs. Jack stares up at him blankly but Jamie doesn't seem to notice.

"You're funny, Jack! Now come on, quit messing around! I thought something bad happened to you yesterday. How come you made it stop snowing so fast and didn't come to see Soph and I and the rest of us?" he asked; Jack still looked up at him with a blank kind of look on his face.

"Who?" he asks, completely confused at this young kid who seemed to be very friendly for their first meeting.

"Slow down, kid, and back up! How can you see me? How do you know who I am?" he asked, staring at Jamie intensely; Jamie started to get a little scared, and a bad feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Jack, what are you talking about?" Jamie asked softly.

"No, what are _you _talking about?" Jack asked, both of the boys equally confused. The conversation was getting them nowhere. Jamie had been about to open his mouth to ask exactly what Jack was getting at when the spirit moved his head slightly and his hood fell down, revealing a small amount of dried blood caked onto the side of his head. Jamie gasped, the situation finally having sunk in.

'_He doesn't remember,' _he thought. _'Something bad happened and now he doesn't remember.' _

Jamie felt himself becoming close to tears, but he held it together; he had to clarify this, to get more information.

"Jack, you really don't remember?" he asked.

"Remember what!?" Jack practically shouted, becoming slightly frustrated with the kid even if he _was_ the first kid to see him; he was thoroughly confused and he hated the feeling.

Jamie's heart sank at that; it was all the confirmation he needed to prove his theory right. He couldn't lose it, though. He had to take control of the situation if he wanted to help his friend. "Jack, just come with me, alright? Bunny or Tooth will be here soon and you can get help and-"

"Wait, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? Do you – do you know why they were looking for me last night? Why would I need help from them?" Jack asked, the situation just becoming more and more unclear.

"Because you're one of them Jack; a Guardian, I mean, and I don't know what happened but you're hurt and you need them to –"

"What do you mean I'm a Guardian? I'm – I've never been – I'm not a Guardian," he said firmly.

"Yes you are! You helped save the world from the Boogieman and –" Jack cut him off, finding everything Jamie was saying too much to process.

"Kid, I don't know what you're talking about, alright? I need to go." With that said, Jack once again took off, despite Jamie's desperate cries down below for him to come back.

**Author's Note: How was that? Review and tell me!**


	4. The Girl in the Ally

**Author's Note: Hey, so this plot is going to take a little twist! I came up with an idea that I'm going use that isn't in the summary, involving Pitch having a daughter! That's the only hint you guys get, but continue to read and you will find out soon! XD enjoy chapter 4! **

"Jack! Jack please wait! Come back!"

Jack felt a bit guilty for ignoring the brown-haired kid's pleas for him to not leave, especially since the kid could actually _see_ him and every ounce of sanity he had was yelling at him to go back and find out why, or even just to comfort him. He couldn't risk it, though. He didn't want to meet up with the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny, and that would have happened if he stayed. Plus, he was just so confused; nothing made sense at the moment. Why had the boy been able to see him? Why had the boy told him that he was a Guardian and saved the world from the Boogieman? He had never done that, and he certainly wasn't a Guardian. On top of all of that, two Guardians were looking for him . . . okay, now the kid's weird story seemed to tie into everything else that was happening. What the heck was going on here!?

Jack became more and more frustrated as he tried to figure out what was going on and couldn't, and he noticed that as he became increasingly angry snow started to come down hard; he sighed, trying to get in control of his emotions. He didn't want to start a blizzard. Taking a deep breath, he managed to stem the snowfall to a light flurry that would only leave an inch or two, and then settled down in another tree, pulling his knees of to his chest and hugging them close to his body. His thoughts were so scrambled up that it was actually turning into another headache. Jack looked up at the sun-filled sky, and just wished that he could see the moon, and that maybe it had the answers he was seeking. The moon never talked to him, though, so even if it did have the answers, it probably wouldn't have told him them.

Jack sighed; in a matter of barely 2 days, his life had been turned upside down, and not for the better. He had to figure out what to with himself; he couldn't just keep running away from his problems, but yet he didn't want to face them; he didn't really see any other alternative right now though.

"Man in the Moon help me," Jack muttered a prayed under his breath. He was highly considering going back to get more information out of the kid when he saw a shadow dash across a snow covered yard and disappear into an ally. His interest piqued, Jack floated away from the tree and followed, holding his staff in a defensive position and feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

Cautiously but curiously, he walks into the ally, on guard and ready to attack if needed. He inched forward when he heard a scuffling sound, trying to get a better look, and soon the silhouette of a person came into view as Jack's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the covered ally.

"Jack Frost, right? I've been told a lot about you," a female voice calls out, sounding sweet but with just a tinge of sadness to it as well, like it was a bad thing that she had heard so much about him.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. The only response he gets is silence. Slowly he moves forward more, trying to get a better look, when there is a tap on his shoulder. Startled, he turns around and finds himself face-to-face with a girl who looked to be a teenager his age when she became an immortal, since it was obvious to Jack that she was one. She had on a sleeveless, black dress that flared out below her waist and reached all the way to the ground. She had wavy black hair that went down to her mid-back, amber eyes, and wore a black skull bracelet on her right wrist. Her skin also had a greyish tint to it.

She smiled and held out her hand to him, probably to shake, and said, "Hi, I'm Shade."

* * *

"What am I gonna do!?" Jamie said out loud to no one in particular. He was the only one outside at this hour in the morning anyway. He was sitting down under the tree, a few tears rolling down his cheeks; he didn't even care that his pajama pants were getting soaked from sitting in the snow, or that he was kind of cold because of that.

"Jamie?" a surprised voice says all of a sudden from up above him. Jamie looked up, hoping to see Tooth floating over to him, but instead he saw his friend Pippa with her head sticking out of her window, looking down at him; he hadn't even realized this was Pippa's house since he had been so focused with Jack. When Jamie looked up at her, Pippa saw his tears, and immediately knew something was up; Jamie Bennett rarely cried. As quickly and quietly as she could, she put on her snow boots and ran outside in her pajamas, sitting down next to her friend in the snow.

"What's the matter, Jamie?"

"It's Jack! I don't know why, but he can't remember being a Guardian, or us! Something is really wrong Pippa; I think he was hurt. He had dry blood on his head, and I tried to get him to stay but he flew off and I don't know where he went!" Jamie said, letting out more tears even though he tried to stop them so he didn't look weak in front of his friend.

"Well, we have to tell the Guardians! How, though?" Pippa says, looking just as panicked as Jamie.

"Bunny and Tooth visited me yesterday and had mentioned that Jack had been gone for a few hours and they couldn't find him; they were looking to see if he had been with us, and I told them about the whole weird snow situation. They said they'd come back today to give me an update, but I don't know when, and this is serious!" Jamie rants.

"I guess we just have to wait," Pippa says dejectedly, and Jamie nods, still trying to be strong.

* * *

"I don't know, we just need to find him," North says, rubbing his temples. The Big Four had been discussing Jack for the entire night into the morning, trying to figure out what might be the matter and where they should look for him, and none of them had any good ideas.

"North, you and Sandy should take the sleigh and a snow globe and check Antarctica. Tooth and I will go back to Burgess and look for him there, and check up on Jamie; we told him we would." North and Sandy nod, heading to the sleigh, Bunny opens up a tunnel for him and Tooth. Bunny notices Tooth's worried expression, and puts a comforting paw on her shoulder.

"We're all worried Tooth, but we'll find Frostbite, alright?" he reassures.

Tooth offers him a little smile and nods. "I know Bunny, I just hope that he's okay," she responds, thinking about the puddle of blood that they had seen in the snow right before they saw Jack and he flew off.

"Me too," Bunny says, and the two of them disappear down the tunnel, heading straight to Burgess in hopes of finding the troublemaker before trouble found him.

**Author's Note: Haha, a little late for that! I'll fit the BunnyxJack bromance in here somewhere, so don't worry the people who wanted to see that! And there shall be some romance between Jack and Shade eventually! Hope you liked this chappie! Review!**


	5. Answers?

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter! Haha hope you enjoy! Review please! And by the way guys, if any of you have instagram, follow my ROTG fan account! It's: rotgfandom**

Bunny and Tooth exited the tunnel, blinking rapidly to get used to the bright sunlight. The two looked around, gathering their bearings.

"Jamie's house is on the next street over," Tooth says. "Let's just go tell him that we haven't figured anything out yet and then go look for Jack." Bunny nods in a agreement and the pair quickly make their way over to Jamie's house, making sure to remain out of sight of the other houses so they don't get stopped by enthusiastic children. Jamie's house soon came into their view, but Bunny's ears perked up when he heard the young believer talking over to the other side of them. He swiveled his head and saw him sitting with Pippa under the tree in her front yard.

"Tooth, he's over there," Bunny points out, and they both head over.

"Jamie, Pippa!" Tooth calls out, getting the two kids' attention. They looked upset when they looked up, and seeing the two Guardians only appeared to cheer them up a little bit; the two Guardians had a bad feeling about this.

"Tooth, Bunny! We need your help! It's about Jack!" Jamie yells out. Tooth and Bunny exchange worried glances as they finally make it to the two children and stand there, or flit in Tooth's case, and listen to what they have to say.

"Guys, something is wrong with Jack! I went out early this morning because there was frost all over the place, so I figured Jack had to be here! I was right, and I saw him right up there in the tree sleeping," Jamie says, pointing up to the branch above him. Bunny and Tooth nodded, not sure exactly where this was going.

"Well, I woke him up by yelling to him, and he fell out. I asked him if he was ok, and he was asking why I could see him and knew who he was! I thought it was a joke but it wasn't, and he had dried blood on his head!" Jamie finished, crying a little more. Pippa was a little too although trying not to show it.

Tooth gasped. "Bunny, the woods! When we saw him there was blood on the snow . . ." she started, but didn't want to finish he thought.

"He's lost his memory," Bunny concluded for her, looking grim.

* * *

Jack just stared at the newcomer's outstretched hand, not sure whether to trust her or not; he had had too many weird encounters in the past two days. His eyes narrowed a bit, trying to calculate what she was trying to do. The girl laughed slightly then, and Jack backed up, not liking where this was heading.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she asked. "Do you not know how to act around girls? That's sweet." She laughed again, but it was nice-sounding, not sly like the last one had been, and Jack blushed the slightest bit, and he hoped that the darkness of the ally hid it.

"So, I hear that you are having some strange experiences. Waking up under a tree branch, two Guardians looking for you, a kid you've never met before being able to see you and appear to know you telling some odd story . . ." she smirked at the look on Jack's face.

"How do you know that?" Jack demanded, now doubly unsure of the immortal. How could she have known all that when it had happened so recently?

"Oh, word gets around. I'm not freaking you out now, am I, Jack? I heard you are always so cocky and mischievous, so fearless," she purred.

"And who exactly did you hear all of this from?" Jack asked, still pointing his staff at Shade in defense.

"My father," she answered simply.

"And your father would be . . . ?" Jack pressed, wanting to know as much as possible.

"What, is it not obvious? I mean, I know no one ever really sees me, but can you not see the resemblance? I expected more of you, Jack. I guess you don't remember meeting him personally though, after what happened."

When she said this, Jack grew even more frustrated. She knew something about the strange things that had been happening to him and yet she was conveniently skirting around the issue.

"What do you mean? What-what happened?"

"Oh come on Jack? Isn't it obvious? You woke up under a freaking tree branch with a headache and a puddle of blood surrounding you. You have amnesia, Frost. You know, memory loss?"

"Wait so-so everything that kid told me was true?" Jack asked, shocked.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"What's your problem!? Stop playing games! Just tell me!"

"Oh, don't throw a temper tantrum! Relax, Jack, I'm just doing what I was told to do. Now listen, I was told to bring you to dad. So, you gonna come willingly and get some answers, or am I gonna have to force you? I really don't want to have to force you," Shade answered.

Jack hesitated, not completely sure what his answer should be. He decided that he definitely didn't trust Shade, but he did want some answers, and it sounded like whoever her father was had them.

"I'm coming," he finally answered.

Shade smiled. "Great, that makes my life a whole lot easier. Follow me," she said, and then took of flying into the air. After one last moment of hesitation, Jack followed after her, his guard up and with some serious doubts and a bad feeling nagging at him.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's short, but I'm on a time restriction guys! The next one will be longer I promise! Hope you enjoyed please review!**


	6. Worries

**Author's Note: Hello my readers! I'm sorry for making you wait for the next chapter! I don't normally take this long to update. Sorry! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Review please! Oh, and regarding a guest's earlier review from one of the chapters, a flamer is basically someone who leaves hate reviews on your story. Anyways, like I said enjoy! **

"Oh, Bunny, what are we going to do about this?!" Tooth asked, flitting back and forth nervously. Jamie and Pippa just continued to watch them from their spot on the ground, occasionally sparing glances at each other. How could the Guardians not have a plan?! They were the Guardians!

"Well, we'll have to tell North and Sandy first. After that, we'll have to get Frostbite to remember," Bunny replied simply; it would have had a more calming affect if his own worry didn't show through his words.

"Yeah, but _how_?! We don't know where he went, and why would he trust us if he doesn't trust us? If what Jamie said is true, he won't remember being a Guardian, Bunny! That means he only knows his 300 some odd years of being alone! That's probably why he flew away from us when we saw him in the woods the other day! He doesn't want anything to do with us!" Tooth ranted, her hyperactive nature barely letting her pause for a breath as she spilled all of her thoughts.

"Tooth, calm down! You're not helpin' the little anklebiters by panicking," Bunny stated, gesturing towards the scared looking pair of Jamie and Pippa. Tooth seemed to have forgotten they were there, but one look at their worried faces made her aware that she was just making matters worse.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sure Jack is going to be ok! Don't worry kids!" she said quickly, trying to make up for freaking out; it evidently wasn't working by the frightened look that remained on their faces.

"Bunny, conference!" Tooth said, pulling Bunny aside for a moment. "I don't think we should leave them alone; they're scared. One of us should stay here while the other goes to tell North and Sandy about the situation to try and calm them down."

"I'll stay," Bunny responded without hesitation. He hated the cold weather of the North Pole, but Tooth had never complained about it.

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes with them and we'll start looking. Make them feel better by then so we can leave them and they won't be too worried!"

With that said, Bunny opened a tunnel for tooth and she zoomed down, waving goodbye as she went. That left Bunny alone with Jamie and Pippa, and he still wasn't exactly 'experienced' with spending a lot of time with children.

He turned to look at them.

"So, uhh . . . who wants to play a game?"

* * *

About two minutes after taking flight after Shade, Jack found himself back in the woods near the area where he had woken up under the tree branch; this didn't help alleviate his suspicions about the strange girl. Still, he had followed her and they both arrived at a rickety looking wooden bed. Jack looked down through the broken boards of it and saw a deep hole that caused a feeling of recognition to blossom in his mind, but he couldn't remember what was down there. He knew by foreboding feeling that accompanied it, however, that it wasn't anything good.

Not very willing to go down there, Jack turned to look at Shade, conveying with his facial expression that he didn't trust her or the dark hole. She just rolled her eyes like his hesitance was stupid and childish, motioning for him to go down. When he didn't, she spoke up.

"I'll make it plain and simple: Do you want some answers or not, Frost?" she asked, sighing like she really didn't want to be arguing with him about this; he wondered why.

He glared at her, and she didn't even smirk back.

"Please just get in the damn hole, Frost!" she yelled out suddenly, startling Jack.

He was confused as to why she sounded so desperate and upset, but he knew better than to ask at the moment; he wanted to just stick to getting the answers Shade was promising him if he met with her father, and to see how much he could actually believe. He wasn't thinking too much about that part though; he was just anxious to get some kind of a lead as to what he was supposed to know. He wanted to remember, so against his better judgment, he leapt down the hole and hoped he wouldn't regret it.

* * *

"North! Sandy! Where are you!?" Tooth shouted, zooming around the many corridors of Santoff Clausen. The two weren't in the Globe Room or the workshop, and the Tooth Fairy was desperately trying to find them; she was starting to think that maybe they weren't back from Antarctica yet and that she would have to go there and locate them.

"NORTH! SANDY!" She shouted again, louder this time.

"Toothy, calm down!" she heard a Russian-accented voice say behind her. She quickly turned around and came face-to-face with North and Sandy, shrieking a little in surprise; she hadn't been expecting them to show up on her so suddenly.

"What is matter, Tooth?" North asked, a concerned that she didn't have Jack with her, or Bunny for that matter.

"You had no luck in finding Jack either? And where is Bunny?" he pressed.

"Bunny's with Jamie and Pippa. We didn't exactly find Jack . . . but Jamie saw him and . . ." Tooth trailed off, feeling choked up. She didn't really want to talk about what they had learned had happened to the Winter Spirit. North saw this and put a large, comforting hand on Tooth's shoulder while Sandy made rapid sand images above his head, trying to ask what had happened.

"What is it, Tooth? What happened when Jamie saw him?" North asked gently.

Holding back a sob, Tooth said, "He's lost his memory, North. He doesn't remember being a Guardian, or any of the kids ever seeing him. He thinks he's still isolated from everyone according to Jamie's story of what happened when they talked," Tooth found the strength to admit.

North stood there with shock showing in his eyes as soon as what Tooth said registered in his mind; Sandy appeared to be the same way.

"Well, don't just stand there! I came to get you guys so we can go find him!" Tooth said; he had gotten slightly impatient.

Sandy made a thumbs-up symbol above his head, showing that he understood and was ready to go. North nodded his head.

"Back to the sleigh, Sandy!" he said, and started towards the sleigh with a snow globe in hand, Tooth and Sandy not far behind. As soon as they were all settled in, North flicked the reins and the reindeer ran down the tunnel, pulling the sleigh with them. Quickly, North threw the snow globe and they went through the portal to meet up with Bunny and look for Jack.

**Author's Note: So sorry for the 10-day wait for an update! That hopefully won't happen again! Hope you enjoyed, please review, and the BunnyxJack bromance will happen soon. They have to be able to find him first though lol.**


	7. The Boogieman

**Author's Note: Hey, I am SO sorry for not updating quicker! I've been kinda bad at getting them up quickly lately, so sorry! I'm really going to try to stop slacking off. Please review! Enjoy!**

**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: So, I've also decided after thinking a little bit and talking with a couple of people that there will not be any romance between Jack and Shade. The Bunny-Jack friendship fluff will happen eventually though, I haven't forgotten about that! Anyway, continue on!**

Jack reached the bottom of the hole quicker than he expected to, so he didn't have time to pull up and ended up slamming into the ground. Groaning a little bit, he stood up and looked around the ominous lair he had entered. There were cages hanging from the ceiling, and the place was all-around-creepy, but the thing he noticed most was that the place was _huge; _his sense of déjà vu also returned upon coming here.

Jack cautiously took a few steps forward, looking around. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, but it was impressive in an intimidating, dark kind of way. A tap on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts, and he turned around to see Shade there.

"Come on Frost, we don't have all day. Follow me, please." She turned and flew in the opposite direction and Jack, slightly ticked off that he was being rushed by the mysterious girl that still wasn't telling him anything, followed fast in pursuit, trying his best to keep up as she weaved through the place; she evidently knew where she was going, and he did not. Eventually, she stopped in a dark room (what room _wasn't _dark in here?) with a weird looking globe in it. The globe had lots of tiny glowing golden lights on it, and Jack had a feeling that this wasn't his first time seeing it; God it was frustrating not being able to remember!

After a few seconds of staring at the globe, Jack noticed the silhouette of a tall, lanky man standing behind the it, the only thing really visible about his features being his piercing amber colored eyes; the rest of his form seemed to blend in almost perfectly with the shadows, like that's where he was meant to be. Jack briefly wondered if he was able to come out of them, seeing as he wasn't moving while he silently stared at him and the girl, but that possibility was ruled out when the man stepped gracefully forward into the light provided by the globe.

Jack took a small step back when he was finally able to see the man; he was wearing a long black robe, his spiked hair was black, his shoes were black, and his skin was a shade of grey, like Shade's but a little darker. Power, arrogance, and cockiness seemed to radiate off of him, and Jack didn't like the feeling he got about whoever he was. He could feel a small memory try to surface at the back of his mind at the sight of the man, like a warning, but he couldn't glean any information from it before it disappeared, lost somewhere back in the depths of his consciousness along with the other missing memories.

"I did as you asked, father. Are you happy?" Shade asked bitterly. The man smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Very happy, my dear. Off to your room with you, I wish to have a talk with our friend in private."

Shade scowled but said nothing in response, instead floating off silently to wherever her room was. Although Jack still wasn't on good terms with Shade, he would much rather be with her than her father; he seemed 10 times worse, and Jack found himself wishing he was following Shade to her room instead of standing here under the scrutinizing gaze of the spine-schilling spirit.

As soon as his daughter was out of sight, the man spoke up, chuckling.

"So, Jack, you don't remember who I am?" he asked teasingly.

"No, but I should," Jack muttered, feeling very uncomfortable with this situation. There was another brief moment of silence while the man studied Jack, putting on a wicked smile at seeing the dried blood on his head. That was all the confirmation he needed; he was certain that he wasn't being lied to, that the Spirit of Winter really didn't remember.

"Relax, Jackson. You could say that you and I were…friends before your _tragic_ amnesia incident. We understood each other."

Jack leaned on his staff, looking skeptically up at the black-clad 'stranger.'

"Why do I have a hard time believing that?" he asked, not buying a word the man said; the man chuckled.

"I know there's a reason you wanted your daughter to bring me here other than just giving me answers, so what's the catch? Who _are _you?" Jack pushed.

"I'll be straight forward with you, Jack; no lies. I'm Pitch Black, the Boogieman. I strike fear into the hearts of children and spread nightmares. I'm also the one who has the answer you are looking for. Do you want them?" The man now identified as Pitch asked Jack.

He hesitantly nodded, not able to help himself; he wanted at least some kind of explanation, even if maybe it wasn't the complete truth….he was desperate now, but wondering if maybe he should go find the friendly Tooth Fairy or even the pesky Easter Bunny instead of the Boogieman….

Pitch smiled evilly; he finally had the Spirit of Winter right where he wanted him.

* * *

"Really? Nothing?" Bunny asked Jamie and Pippa. They had just denied every game known to man, and Bunny wasn't sure what else to try to attempt easing their worries. Bunny groaned and sat down in front of the two kids.

"Alright, anklebiters, what's it gonna take for ya to cheer up? Jack will be fine, alright? We'll find him and get him to remember, and that's a promise," Bunny told them, every bit confident that what he said was true. He had a soft spot for Jack even if he wouldn't admit it, and he would work for centuries if that was what it took to find Jack and get rid of his amnesia.

Jamie and Pippa managed a tiny hopeful look. "You really promise?" Jamie asked, a little bit of his normal cheer returning to his eyes.

"Would I lie to ya, mate?" Bunny asked, smiling at the Bennett boy and ruffling his hair. Jamie and Pippa both smile hugely, much more confident now that Bunny seemed so sure that everything was going to be ok.

Bunny chuckled at the sudden change in the two kids' moods, finding it humorous. When his sensitive ears picked up the sound of a portal opening, he herded Jamie and Pippa back into their individual houses, telling them to change into dry clothes and that they would be back in a week or two maximum with Jack. As soon as they were gone, the sleigh shot out of the now visible portal and landed near Bunny; they were ready to find Jack.

**Author's Note: Please review! :D **


	8. Anticipation

** Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Read, review, and enjoy! Thank you! I am so sorry for the lateness of this. There was so much going on in my life, including a death in my family….Sorry! **

**IMPORTANT: I'm wrestling with myself over the plot. I have some big decisions I need to make to be able to work on this story, and thought maybe you guys could help. Ok, so I'm thinking of not having Shade as a major character anymore, and just kind of slowly taking her out of the story. Good idea or no? And also, should I have Pitch remain big in the story, trying to get Jack to join him or should he just have a smaller roll, like more of an annoyance than a threat? Review and tell me!**

"North, slow down! We don't even know where we're going!" Bunny yelled, clutching the sides of the sleigh tightly as it sped through the sky, just a red blur to any believers who happened to look up. In normal circumstances, North would have chuckled at the Easter Bunny's silly fear of flying, but this time, his face was serious and he just nodded, slowing the sleigh down enough to ease Bunny's nerves slightly.

"Where are we even supposed to start looking?" Tooth asked quietly, feeling like it was a necessary question to know the answer to.

The other three Guardians who were present thought for a moment all thought for a moment.

"His lake?" North suggested. "Just because he's lost his memory doesn't mean it wont feel familiar to him." Not having any other ideas, Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny nodded and braced themselves as North made a sharp turn, throwing a snow globe to open up a portal into Burgess.

* * *

Jack was still staring at Pitch, watching him carefully for any sudden movements that would label him as a threat. He still had his staff at the ready, pointed at the Boogieman in case he had a sudden change in his plans and attacked; he was still waiting for Pitch to speak, to hear what he had to say. Jack so badly wanted answers. Was he really a Guardian? Did he really have friends, people who cared for him? Was it….was it possible? He was getting anxious waiting, and Pitch could tell. He purposefully waited another minute before finally starting to speak.

"You see, Jack, in your current state you obviously wouldn't know, but the Guardians aren't who you think they are… they're traitors, Jack. You shouldn't trust them. I suppose you have no recollection of the Easter mishap when they sent you away? They cast you out as if you were a criminal….or, well, an outcast."

Jack just thought for a moment, not saying anything. Was Pitch telling the truth? The phrase 'Easter Disaster' did seem to stir up a bit of memory….nothing more than a feeling of slight anger and sadness, but still something. Jack didn't want to believe it, but he had a feeling that there was some truth to what the Boogeyman had just said, if not complete truth.

The Spirit of Winter lowered his staff slightly, relaxing just the slightest bit. "What….what happened?" he asked tentatively, wanting to know more; he didn't even notice the satisfied smirk on Pitch's face as Jack played right into the trap.

"Well to be honest, Jack, I don't know if I should tell you. You were just so crushed when it actually happened; I don't want to see you relive that," Pitch said over-dramatically; his horrible acting skills didn't go unnoticed by Jack, and his guard was immediately back up. He decided right then and there that there was no way he could trust the Nightmare King. While he wasn't looking, Jack cautiously started to back up, trying to make a stealthy escape….what had he gotten himself into?

Jack was just about out of sight in the shadows behind him when Pitch turned around. He looked slightly panicked and angry for a moment when he didn't see Jack, but then his gaze fell upon the almost completely concealed spirit.

"Frost, what are you doing?" he asked carefully, half-mad, half-curious.

Jack bolted in the direction of the only exit.

* * *

"North, he's not here," Tooth said dejectedly. Her, Sandy, North, Bunny, and Baby Tooth (whom had stowed away in the sleigh) had searched Jack's lake twice over in hopes of finding the mischievous boy, but all they had gotten was crushed hope, even from Bunny. He vowed to himself not to give up though; he owed it to Jack, and to Jamie and Pippa. He had made a promise that he was not going to break.

"Come on, he wouldn't go to far…right?" Bunny asked to no one in particular. But for all they knew, he could have. Jack could be in some foreign country for all they knew with the wind at his disposal to bring him wherever he wanted to go. Bunny sighed.

"Let's check one more time, just to be sure he isn't hiding anywhere," Bunny said.

* * *

"Jack, get back here!" Pitch screamed angrily, but it was just an echo in the distance as Jack flew through the underground expanse, zooming out of the hole to the surface as fast as he could, a blue, white, and brown blur as he zipped through the sky, determined to get as far away from Pitch as possible. He sped right past his lake, right past the Guardians….

* * *

"Alright, let's just look somewhere else. He's obviously not here. Where else should we che-" Tooth started to ask, but was interrupted by the gust of strong wind that suddenly blew past them, making them all shiver. The 4 Guardians, and Baby Tooth, looked up just in time to see a blue, white, and brown blur speed by over their heads.

"That – That's gotta be Jack! Guys, hurry, get in the sleigh! Follow him!" Tooth screamed. Sandy, North, and Bunny scrambled in after the overly-excited fairy, Baby Tooth perched on her queen's shoulder chirping in excitement and anticipation. Everyone was barely seated before North flicked the reins hard. The reindeer bucked up and seconds later jumped into the sky, hot in pursuit of what had to be the missing Winter Spirit.

The form continued to move quickly and agilely ahead of them, just barely staying in their line of sight. The Guardians were determined though; they weren't losing Jack. Not again.

"Hiya!" North yelled, flicking the reins harder. The reindeer followed the command they knew well, running even faster through the air and pulling the sleigh along with them, always keeping the fleeing Guardian of Fun in their sight.

"Jack! Tooth called out; he either didn't hear her or didn't want to listen.

"Frostbite!" Bunny called, louder than Tooth had. This time the blur slowed to an immediate stop, turning around with a slightly scared expression on his face, wielding his staff in a defensive position. When Jack saw the sleigh and the 4 Guardians inside, his look transformed into one of wonder and curiosity, but also nervousness and caution. Letting go of his staff with one hand, he pointed to them, and then down to the ground, descending rapidly. The Guardians took this as signal to land, so North, with a slight smile on his face, commanded the reindeer to land. They started the descent to the ground where Jack was already waiting for them, only able to guess how this conversation was going to play out.

**Author's Note: I finally finished it! Hope you enjoyed it! Review please!**


	9. Earning Trust?

**Author's Note: You guys, I am so sorry it took me so long to update this, especially since I kinda left it on a little cliffy. I've been focused on other things lately and slacked off from writing this. I'm going to try to make sure it wont happen again! Enjoy and review! And also….I'm taking Shade out of the story. I just don't think she fits.**

Jack watched the sleigh touch down on the ground with interest but extreme caution; he wasn't taking any chances with the Guardians, especially after what had just happened with Pitch. The Spirit of Winter never took his eyes off of the four beings as they all quickly got out of the sleigh and made their way over to him; he kept his staff held protectively in front of him.

"Jack!" the one that Jack knew was the Tooth Fairy squealed, getting closer. It was too close for comfort, and Jack took a few steps backwards. He noticed the hurt look that creeped over her features as he did so. His actions didn't stop someone from approaching him though; a little fairy that Jack hadn't noticed before flew off of the Tooth Fairy's shoulder and zoomed right up to Jack, flitting around him and chirping fervently. Jack's eyes widened in surprise at the little creature. His first instinct was to freeze it, but a little nagging feeling at the back of his mind told him that he shouldn't.

When he stopped watching the tiny fairy, Jack turned his attention back to the Guardians standing (or flying in Tooth's case) just feet away from him. No one was saying anything; it was just an awkward stare-off. Finally, the big Russian man that Jack knew was the one kids called Santa Claus spoke up.

"Jack….do you know who ve are?" he asked, his accent prominent.

Jack nodded. "You're the Guardians of Childhood; everyone knows who you are," Jack said slowly, as if afraid he was wrong; he wasn't sure of too much anymore. The man nodded though, signaling that he had given the right answer.

"Good, good. But, Jack, how much do you know about us?" North prompted, trying to see exactly how much the amnesic spirit could recall.

"Not much, but I already know that I supposedly should," Jack responded; he didn't add that he wasn't sure whether what they were really his friends or if what the Boogieman had said was true and they really had cast him out. What if this was a trap? Jack wasn't letting his guard down, and the Guardians could clearly tell from how tensed up the teen was, and the wary look in his eyes.

"Well, we wanna help ya mate. You can trust us," Bunnymund said, taking an experimental step towards the young spirit. Jack immediately stepped back again, raising his staff higher in a threatening manner.

"How do I know?" he questioned, not taking any chances.

The look on each of the Guardians' faces showed sadness at the lack of trust Jack was showing in them, but they also knew deep down that this was inevitable. Jack was confused, scared, and nervous; his behavior was reasonable considering what had happened.

"Frostbite, I'll be straight with ya: There really is no way for us to prove it. You just need to have at least enough trust in us to come with us, alright?"

Jack still looked incredibly skeptical.

"Jack, take a walk with me for a second, eh? You can keep your stick pointed right at me the whole time, alright?" Bunny said, thinking fast. Maybe he could find a way to convince Jack if he wasn't being stared at by all of the Guardians and Baby Tooth. He hesitated for a second, as if debating whether he wanted to bolt of follow the Easter Bunny, but in the end decided to slowly tail behind him as Bunny lead him away from the others.

"Alright, what is it Cottontail?" Jack asked when they were out of ear-shot of the others. It came out sounding a little irritated and suspicious, but on the inside Jack felt uncharacteristically anxious. Bunnymund just smiled a little bit. Normally he didn't take kindly to that nickname, but this time it meant that the Jack he had come to know hadn't completely disappeared after the accident.

Jack relaxed the slightest bit after Bunny smiled at him. Sure it wasn't that big of a deal, but the little bit of kindness and happiness behind it was genuine, and it made Jack feel somewhat at home, unlike the uneasy feeling he had had for most of the time he was with Pitch.

"Listen, snowflake, I know you're confused and not sure what to do. I promise you can trust us though. North, Tooth, Sandy and me….we're your family," Bunny said sincerely, patting Jack on the shoulder in compassion. The action caused the Guardian of Fun to flinch back, but he seemed to realize quickly that Bunny wasn't harming him, and his body became a little less tense.

Noticing the slight change in his young friend, Bunny smiled a little more, trying to let the Spirit of Winter see that there was no reason to fear him.

"Alright, I'll go with you. But don't think this means we're all friends now, or that I trust you," Jack said with confidence, the memory of Pitch telling him how these beings had cast him out still bubbling freshly in his mind. He flew back over to where the other Guardians were waiting. Bunny just shook his head; even if the teen wouldn't admit it, he at least somewhat trusted them; why else would he agree to going with them?

Sandy, North, and Tooth couldn't hide the happiness that slipped into their features when they saw Jack coming back. He refused to ride in the sleigh with them, instead flying next to them through the portal North opened back to the North Pole, but they were just glad Bunnymund had convinced him to come.

However, there was still a gloomy feeling hanging around the Big Four, because one question now remained: How were they going to get Jack Frost to remember?

**Author's Note: Kinda short I know, but I felt that was where I wanted to leave it. At least I updated! Review! **


	10. Escape

**Author's Note: I'm finally updating. You're welcome! (Jack Frost reference lol) I'm so sorry for the long wait! Just know that even if I take a while to update, I WILL UPDATE! :D Read and Review please!**

"Huh, so this is what it looks like inside," Jack said, mostly to himself as he walked through North's toy workshop with a small smile on his face, the other Guardians not far behind him.

"You've seen it before, Frostbite. Lots of times," Bunnymund informed him, a small sinking feeling running through him. He had thought that maybe his memories would just come back no problem when he saw the familiar setting; he had been wrong.

"Don't you recognize anything Jack? Anything at all?" Tooth asked hopefully, buzzing up next to the boy. Jack, still uncomfortable with having the others so close to him, moved back a couple of feet before answering.

"No," he said, feeling slightly annoyed now. Could they quit asking him that question? If he recognized anything, he would obviously speak up; they didn't need to keep pestering him, no matter how concerned they were for him. Jack still wasn't completely sure how much they really cared anyway. No matter how hard he tried to push it out of his mind, that one comment Pitch had made about the "Easter Disaster" stayed stuck there like glue, and he couldn't help but be wary. He just hoped that he hadn't made a mistake in trusting the Guardians . . . .

"Jack?" He was pulled out of his thoughts by Tooth snapping in his face. Startled, fell backwards onto the floor; immediately, Tooth and Sandy, the two nearest Guardians, moved forward to help him up, but Jack shrugged them off, finally having had enough of their annoying over eagerness to help him.

"That's enough!" he shouted, ice shooting out from his staff and just barely missing the Guardians and Baby Tooth, who all quickly moved out of Jack's line of fire; they all looked at him with shocked faces.

"Just…leave me alone! Give me some space!" He continued. Confused, annoyed, and not really sure what else to do, Jack made a mad-dash for the nearest room and locked himself in it by freezing the doorknob and door hinges. He could hear their alarmed, hushed talking on the other side of the door, but he tuned them out, focusing on his new quieter, less stressful environment for the time being. There was a bed in one corner, a small nightstand right next to it, and a dresser pushed up against the opposite wall. Judging by the incredible lack of furniture and décor, Jack assumed that it was a guest room that wasn't used much. In fact, there weren't even any windows in the room. The only thing on the wall was a crudely done drawing, obviously constructed by a kid. Curious, he walked over to it, wondering what was important enough about it to be the only thing hanging. Once he was close enough to it, he could examine it closely.

It was a normal sheet of white paper. On it, in crayon, was what looked like the Guardians, including Jack, with two young kids? Jack felt a sense of familiarity toward it, and what felt like a tickling sensation in the back of his mind. Then, in a split second, he knew what it was.

"_Jack! Jack, look what I made!" Jamie said, running outside to meet his favorite Guardian. "It's you, and the other Guardians, and me and Sophie!" he continued excitedly. _

_Jack took it, smiling at the simple drawing. "This is great, kiddo. I'll take it to the North Pole with me when I head back and show the others."_

The Spirit of Winter smiled. Finally, _finally _he could recall something, something important. The boy who had drawn this was the same one that had just tried to talk to him not that long ago, the little brown-haired boy….This could solve everything! He just had to find this kid, get him to explain what he had been saying before! After all, if Jack had spent time with him, then wouldn't he be a friend? What he said had to be the truth, right? Excited, Jack rushed back over to the door, intent on finding his way back to the house of the boy in his memory. He stopped himself before he turned the doorknob, though; the Guardians were still out there, and Jack knew they would try to stop him from leaving the Pole by himself, and he couldn't stand to be around them right now; he needed to hear from someone besides them, and he knew this kid was the one. So how was he going to get out of here without getting caught? Just to be sure that the Guardians were still out there, Jack put his ear against the door, and sure enough, he could hear their hushed conversation. He sighed; this was going to be complicated.

Turning quietly away from the door, Jack surveyed the room again, this time more thoroughly; there were definitely no other exits, so the way Jack saw it, he had two options. The first was to use his powers to create a hole in the wall, therefore creating his own exit. The second was to simply open the door, and make a fast attempt to get past the Guardians. Both ways were equally risky. If he made the hole, it would certainly make a lot of noise, and they would try to investigate, possibly being able to gain entrance to the room and stop Jack before he could escape. If he tried to just get past them, it was inevitable that if he wasn't fast enough, they would all make a grab for him, and the Spirit of Winter knew that at least the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny were pretty speedy themselves.

After carefully weighing his options, Jack made a choice. Careful not to make even the slightest noise, the winter boy defrosted the doorknob and waited, listening for the right time. As soon as he was certain that the beings on the other side of the door were completely engrossed in their conversation and wouldn't be prepared (at least right away) to catch an escapee, he opened quickly pulled open the door and, with a burst of speed and determination, made a break down the hallway, laughing at the expressions of shock on their faces. However, it stopped being funny when he could hear the sounds of their pursuit behind him, their frantic shouts for him to come back. Jack knew that of he got caught, his plan to meet with the kid alone would be ruined, and he was not about to let that happen. In a split second he turned down the nearest hallway, zigzagging through the air down random corridors to try and lose his pursuers. Eventually, the sounds of footsteps and wing beats faded, and Jack was able to slow down a bit, looking for the best way out of the workshop, but first raiding the nearest shelf for some of the magic snow globes North had used to get them here.

Once the Guardian of Fun had two of them safely tucked away in his pocket, he dashed for the nearest window, shattered it with one icy blast, and made his escape.

After he was a good enough distance away, the spirit took out one of the magic device and, whispering Burgess, Pennsylvania into it, smashed the thing against the ground, successfully opening up a portal into the hometown of the little boy.

"Kid, I hope you have the answers," Jack muttered to himself, and then found himself flying into the swirling vortex, leaving the searching Guardians far behind him.

**Author's Note: I hope this longer-ish chapter makes up for the long wait! Next update will come soon! This chapter looked longer in my word doc :(  
**


	11. Recounting Tales

**Author's Note: Hey, I'm not dead! Here's the latest chapter of The Downside of Winter! Review please!**

Jack flew clumsily through the air once he exited the portal into Burgess, flying as fast as he dared to the brown-haired kid's house. He knew he couldn't waste any time; the Guardians weren't stupid, and the young Spirit of Winter was well aware of the fact that eventually they would figure out he wasn't at the Pole anymore and come looking for him. With that thought in mind, he picked up speed.

In retrospect, it wasn't his best idea. The kid's house came into view quicker than he expected, and he braced himself, knowing there was no way he could just suddenly stop. Seconds later, Jack literally crashed through Jamie's window, glass flying everywhere. Jack sat up slowly, leaning against the wall and rubbing any blood off of his arms, while Jamie stared openmouthed at the mess and, more importantly, the white-haired teen who had caused it.

"Jack…?" he asked hesitantly, still in a bit of a daze. The amnesiac in question looked up at the sound of his name being called, meeting Jamie's eyes. "Jack!" The twelve-year-old said again after a few seconds, the situation registering more clearly in his brain now. He got up out of his desk chair, thankful that his mom had taken Sophie out to the store with her and wouldn't be back for at least another half hour.

The spirit nodded, and accepted Jamie's outstretched hand, getting pulled to his feet. Jack looked around the room, taking in the strangely familiar details, his eyes landing on one particular hand-drawn picture on the wall. It was of the same kid he was now standing in front of, flying in the air on a sled while other kids watched him. A brief image flashed in the Guardian's mind of that moment, how happy the kid had been when he lost a tooth because of it. Jack smiled; it was only a tiny little memory, and he still wasn't exactly sure who this kid was, or what information out of what he had been told was actually true, but he was making slow progress. Jack pulled himself out of his thoughts, suddenly aware that the kid was staring at him.

"What?" Jack asked; had he missed something?

"Are you…are you better?" the kid asked hesitantly, obviously afraid of not getting the answer he wanted, but still sounding hopeful.

The Guardian of Fun chuckled humorously. "If you mean do I have my memory back, then unfortunately, the answer is 'no' kiddo." he replied. Jamie frowned, looking down at his feet and trying not to let any tears fall.

Jack patted him awkwardly on the shoulder, trying to comfort the child. "Hey, it's ok," he said, but considering it wasn't even convincing to himself, Jamie wasn't buying it. A sudden thought occurred to the youngster, however, and he looked up, hopeful again.

"If you can't remember still, then why did you come to me?" he asked. Jack smiled at him.

"Good question. You see I've been able to recall a tiny piece of memory, but it's only happened once, and it had to do with you, so I want you to explain everything to me! You know, the stuff I can't remember!" Jack said quickly, barely pausing for a breath. The kid stared at him, looking a little caught off guard.

"Ok Jack, if this will help you get better! What do you want to know?" he asked after a moment, eager.

"Well, everything! But, let's start with the basics. Who are you?"

* * *

"North, we've searched the entire place! The little ice pop's not here," Bunnymund said, rubbing his temples. This was not good. He made a promise he intended to keep to Jamie and Pippa. He said he'd bring Jack back to them in 2 weeks, back to his old self. To do that, he kind of needed Jack.

"Oh, where could he have gone!?" Tooth fretted, flitting around nervously in the air, her mini fairies watching her curiously.

North sighed. "Honestly, I don't know Toothy," he admitted dejectedly.

Everyone stood (or floated) silently, lost in thought until Sandy flashed a symbol above his head, startling them all at the sudden movement. It was a golden sand image of a globe.

"What about the Globe?" Bunny asked, confused; Sandy shook his head; they were getting the wrong message. He made the globe image disappear and conjured up an image of snow.

This time North took a stab at it. "Snow….and the Globe?" he said, just as confused as Bunny; Tooth's eyes lit up though.

"Oh! I get it! Snowglobe! He's saying what if Jack used a snowglobe?" Sandy nodded vigorously, pleased that Tooth was able to put two and two together.

"Ok, is good point," North said thoughtfully. "But…where would he go?" There was silence for another moment as the four Guardians thought carefully again.

"You…you don't think he went to see Jamie or the other kids, do you?" Tooth asked hesitantly, afraid that it was a stupid idea since the Spirit of Winter couldn't even remember who they were. However, the other three nodded in agreement.

"It's possible, I guess. But then again, he could have gone anywhere else in the bloody big world too. I told him his constant traveling would cause trouble someday, and looks like I was right. He could be anywhere!" Bunny ranted, annoyed out of worry for the boy. What if Pitch got to him? What if he already had? After all, when they found Jack, he had been flying fast away from his lair….

North chimed in. "Well, I guess we should break up. Toothy, you go to Jamie's. I'll take the sleigh and go to Antarctica. Bunny, you check….ah, Canada? Sandy, you can go to…England!" he said, listing possible places where Jack might have gone. With that decided, they went their separate ways to search…again.

* * *

"….and I made you keep your belief?" Jack asked, enraptured in the conversation. Jamie nodded.

"Yeah, that's when I was able to see you for the first time. Do you remember that?" Jack appeared to concentrate, thinking hard, but shook his head sadly after a minute.

"No…wait! I….I made it snow in your room, right!?" Jack asked, a little snippet of what Jamie had just described to him suddenly popping into his aching head. Jamie nodded again, more enthusiastically this time and with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah! You did!" he said, bouncing excitedly on his bed. "Anything else coming back?"

Jack shook his head again. "No. Sorry, Jamie," he replied, somewhat dejectedly. They had made some progress; Jack could now recall with pretty decent accuracy who Jamie was. He could remember seeing him the day before the Easter Egg Hunt, before everything went bad, but not much about actually meeting him and the battle with Pitch. Everything about the other kids, even Jamie's sister, was still locked away to him as well, along with everything about being a Guardian. Now it was Jamie's turn to try and comfort Jack.

"Don't worry Jack, you're doing good! I bet you'll be back to normal in no time!" he encouraged, not letting even a shadow of a doubt into his voice, even though he still had some in his mind. Jack sighed.

"Thanks, kiddo, I appreciate it. Just…one more question?" he asked.

"Sure, anything!" Jamie said.

"What…what do you know about the Easter Disaster?" he said slowly, finally letting the thing that had been bugging him since Pitch mentioned it to him. Jamie visibly paled when those words came out of his friend's mouth. Jack had told Jamie once about the "Easter Disaster." He had trusted Jamie with the whole story, even the part that the Guardians didn't know about when the Boogieman broke Jack's staff and he was giving up hope. It was sad to hear, and even sadder for Jack to live through. Even if it was only for a little while, the Guardians had lost their trust in him, and Jamie really didn't want to recount that to Jack when he was so unsure about his feelings toward the Guardians in his current position.

"Uhhh….are there any _other_ questions?" Jamie asked, trying to skirt around the subject. Jack's eyes narrowed a little bit at the obvious aversion to his question.

"No," he said simply. "So, do you know anything about it?" he asked; Jamie gulped and nodded slowly.

"Well yeah, but Jack, what do _you_ know about it? I thought you couldn't remember….did the Guardians mention it?" Jamie asked, doubtful that they did; where had his friend heard the term "Easter Disaster?"

"No, they didn't. I just….I just heard it, ok? And some…other little details about it. Just….please tell me what happened, Jamie. Please," Jack begged, but Jamie still wasn't sure if he should. Finally, he nodded.

"Ok…but only if you promise to tell me who you heard that from," he told the Guardian. Jack nodded in response.

"It…it was Pitch Black," he said quietly. Jamie gasped.

"Jack, when did you talk to him!?"

"Jamie, that's not important right now! I kept my end of the bargain, now you keep yours! Tell me what happened."

The boy gulped again, nervous. "Ok, Jack, but…no matter how bad it sounds, please don't leave until I finish the whole story, ok? And I want you to tell me about your talk with him when I'm done!" Jack said nothing, just stared intently at Jamie in anticipation. Reluctantly, Jamie started to recount the tale that Jack had told him two years ago.

**Author's Note: Well that was a long chapter to write! What do you think will happen next!? Review and tell me!**


	12. Liar Liar

Author's Note: Hey, I'm back with the latest chapter! Enjoy!

Jack stared at Jamie as he finished up the story, shocked to the point where he couldn't say anything. He sat there on the bed, his mouth hanging open slightly, and just stared downward, lost in his thoughts. "Jack…?" Jamie hesitantly asked after a few minutes of silence from the Spirit of Winter; he didn't look up, obviously still deep in his thoughts. "Jack!" the young boy tried again, and this time Jack snapping his head up to look at him rewarded him.

"Are…are you okay?" Jamie asked, unsure of what was running through his friend's mind right now. He knew it couldn't be good though, and he was starting to regret telling Jack about the events that had transpired on that particular Easter when the Guardians had cast him out. Jack looked upset, and Jamie knew even before the Guardian of Fun opened his mouth to speak that he wasn't okay, and he frowned, knowing that what he had just told him was a huge mistake.

"What do you mean they just cast me out!? They just accused me of doing something wrong without letting me explain!?" Jack demanded angrily; friends didn't do that, so how could the Guardians claim to be his friends? Jamie winced at the white-haired teen's angry, bitter words. How was he going to get out of this one?

"Jack, just listen to me for a minute, okay? It was a mistake on the Guardian's part; they felt bad about it, and they really were sorry." Jack didn't look like he was buying a single word that spilled out of Jamie's mouth, and that would probably be because he wasn't. The young spirit admitted to himself that he had started to trust the Guardians, even if it was just a little. That tiny ounce of trust was gone now though, replaced with suspicion and betrayal. He had no one now. He couldn't trust Pitch. He couldn't trust the Guardians. Heck, he was barely trusting Jamie at the moment, even though the few snippets of memory he had of the kid weren't at all bad.

"Don't trust them, Jack. They'll betray you. All of them will,"

a mocking voice echoed from the shadows. Jack knew it was that damn Boogieman trying to get under his skin, but he wasn't _too _concerned; he knew the man was too weak to do anything other than what he was just now, and with a blast of ice sent into the dark corners of the room, the voice went away, although it still haunted his thoughts. Jack shook his head, trying to clear it. He was starting to develop a big headache from this all, and he didn't know how much more he could handle. He just wanted to be alone to make sense out of the plethora of thoughts and questions racing across his troubled mind, and he started to walk towards the window, ignoring Jamie's protests to "stop!" and "be rational!" The boy ran in front of him, trying to stop him from continuing on his way.

"Jack, please don't g-" He didn't finish, because moments later, a multi-colored blur came tearing through the broken window and crashed into Jack, knocking him to the ground; Jamie smiled. Jack definitely wasn't leaving now.

* * *

Tooth was fretting during the entire flight over to Jamie's house. She was really hoping that Jack was there, but at the same time she knew it was very possible that he wasn't. She knew it was very possible that they wouldn't find him. He could literally be anywhere in the world, and Tooth knew that if the spirit did not want to be found, it was most likely that he would not be. The normally bubbly, excitable Tooth Fairy was actually on the verge of tears when Jamie Bennett's house came into view. The first thing she noticed was the broken window. The second thing was Jack Frost, sitting on the bed with Jamie, and he didn't look happy. In fact, he was angry and yelling words that she could not here from her distance, and the younger boy appeared to be trying to calm him down but was not succeeding. Toothiana increased her speed when she saw Jack get up and head towards the window, obviously intending on leaving.

Just as Jamie stepped in front of Jack in a last ditch effort to prevent the teen from escaping, Tooth came zooming through the window, knocking into Jack and taking him to the ground. She landed on his chest, him on his back under her groaning slightly from the sudden impact.

"Jack! I'm so sorry!" she squealed, quickly getting off of him and hoping she hadn't hurt him too bad. The young Guardian sat up, rubbing his temples and trying to make the now-worse headache go away, to no avail. He shot a glare at the fairy, not feeling bad even when she looked a little hurt. After all, she deserved to feel a fraction of what he had gone through. He didn't remember it, but he knew it hadn't felt good. Quickly trying to hide her hurt expression, Tooth covered it with a look of confusion.

"Jack, I said I was sorry," she stated, thinking the young spirit was only upset about her crash-landing on top of him. He didn't reply, just glared at the ground; he didn't want to put up with her right now, not when he didn't know the right thing to say with everything in his mind muddled together. When Tooth realized Jack was giving her the silent treatment, she turned to Jamie, and the youngster quickly whispered what had happened into her ear. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands before composing herself.

"Jack, please, let me explain…" Jack snapped his head back up.

"I think Jamie's explained enough," he said bitterly venom dripping from his words. The fairy backed up slightly, not used to hearing such hateful words from the caring, mischievous boy she had come to know so well.

"Please, just…" he eyes lit up when an idea came to her. "Meet the other kids! They'll tell you, Jack! Please, give them a chance to back us up, and I promise that -"

"Your promises mean nothing to me. You and the rest of the Guardians are liars, and I wouldn't trust a word you said if my life depended on it," Jack spat out, the tension in the room increasing, and time appearing to stand still.

Author's Note: I'm not sure I like this chapter, especially the ending, so tell me in a review? I would appreciate it!


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